Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, January 1, 2013 Read - Luke 3:1-20 Luke has already made a choice to begin his gospel with the long and brilliantly written narrative of the births of John and Jesus – Luke chapters one and two. That narrative was Luke’s unique creation and makes for a very fitting beginning. Luke is now ready to take up his primary source, the gospel of Mark and supplement it with his second source, materials that he shares with Matthew. For convenience sake I’m going to refer to this material shared by Luke and Matthew as “Q” which is the way most scholars refer to this material. The letter “Q” is the first letter of the German word for “source.” Luke does not simply repeat Mark, but adds to what Mark said – at times correcting what Luke likely perceived as small errors in Mark. For example, Mark begins by saying that he is quoting from the prophet Isaiah but the words he first quotes are from the book of Malachi. Luke simply drops out the words from Malachi making his version “technically correct.” Because he views himself as a “historian” writing in the fashion of other “historians” of that time, Luke also elaborates the setting of his narrative, placing it squarely in the context of other historical realities – “the fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius” (about 29 or 30 AD) and also “when Pontius Pilate was governor” and “Herod (Antipas – the son of the Herod who was ruling when Jesus was born) was ruler of Galilee” and so forth. The story has lain dormant for about 30 years with the exception of the brief encounter with Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple when he was 12 years old. Now God acts. It is important that we notice that the action in Luke’s gospel happens because God is acting. So God calls John to begin his ministry. Luke understands the coming of Jesus as God’s “visitation of his people!” The question that looms over his gospel is whether or not they will perceive and welcome this “visitation” of God. Following Mark, Luke tells of a ministry of John the Baptist that fulfills the words of the prophet Isaiah – the voice of one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. Luke elaborates on Mark’s briefer quotation from Isaiah 40. Mark’s brevity was likely because he wanted to get to his main point – the “ripping open of the heavens, the descending of the Spirit upon Jesus, and the letting loose of God into the world.” Luke is much more patient than Mark. His purpose is to place Jesus in the context of John’s ministry and eventually to bring contrast between John and Jesus. Having begun with Mark’s dramatic scene, Luke now adds to it by turning to “Q” and speaking much more about John’s actual ministry. Matthew does the same. The ministry of John is a radical call to repentance and a seeking of the forgiveness of sins. The words are harsh and demanding. The outcome is a “making ready” of those who will hear. The ministry of John is far more important to Luke than it was to Mark. Luke is careful to detail how John fulfills the role of Elijah who was to come to prepare the way – Mark more or less takes that for granted.